Household income hits a new record
Census data show real median household income reached $87,460 in 2025, up 2.6% after inflation and the highest since records began in 1967.
Economy & Jobs
Paychecks, factories and the businesses that hire your neighbors.
12 wins
Poverty hits a record low
The official poverty rate fell to 10.2% in 2025, the lowest since tracking began in 1959, and child poverty fell to a record-low 13.4%.
Businesses hire while Washington slims down
Private employers added about 1 million jobs from January 2025 to September 2026 by the current BLS count, while the federal workforce shrank by 328,000 to its smallest size since 1966.
Factories are humming again
The ISM manufacturing index read 54.5 in September 2026, its ninth straight month of growth, and factories have added 72,000 jobs since December.
Trillions in pledges, and the first shovels
The White House counts more than $11 trillion in multi-year investment pledges; much is still on paper, but a few flagship projects in Arizona and Texas are already running.
The trade deals survived the Supreme Court
After the Supreme Court struck down the emergency tariffs, the trade deals held: 10 published reciprocal trade agreements and about 10 more deals and frameworks, including with the UK, EU and Japan.
Wall Street records and fatter 401(k)s
The S&P 500 and Dow repeatedly closed at record highs in 2026, with the Dow topping 54,000, and a New York Post op-ed estimates the average 401(k) is up about $25,000.
Crypto comes home
Trump created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, ended 'Operation Choke Point 2.0' and signed the GENIUS Act, the first federal stablecoin framework.
Breaking China's grip on critical minerals
New deals, including a Nigeria mining pact and a $500 million commitment to a U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve, are starting to rebuild supply chains outside China.
Tax relief for Main Street and factories
The tax law made the 20% small-business deduction permanent, restored 100% immediate expensing for equipment and created a new, temporary write-off for building factories.
Over $6 billion pledged for science
At an Oct. 8 summit the White House announced more than $6 billion in commitments for science, including $2.4 billion in AI tools and compute credits from 11 companies and a $215 million quantum competition.
TikTok moves under American ownership
A deal put TikTok's U.S. operations under American ownership and cut Beijing's access to Americans' data.